Charlotte Lewis

Charlotte Lewis (born 7 August 1967) is an English actress. She is best known as Kee Nang in the 1986 film The Golden Child. She retired from acting after an appearance in the 2003 film Hey DJ, briefly returning to appear in the 2019 art film, Lost Angelas, which received a limited theatrical release.

Early life Lewis attended Bishop Douglass School in Finchley. Her mother is Irish-English, and her father is half-Chilean and half-Iraqi.

Career Lewis made her film debut as a teenager in the 1986 Roman Polanski film Pirates. She followed it that same year with the co-lead in The Golden Child alongside Eddie Murphy. Later appearances include the film Tripwire (1990) and Storyville (1992), opposite James Spader. She had a co-starring role in Men of War (1994), alongside Dolph Lundgren, and in the 1995 film Decoy. Lewis appeared in the 2003 film Hey DJ.

Lewis also appeared in a cover-featured pictorial in the July 1993 issue of Playboy magazine.

In 1995, Lewis appeared in the direct-to-video erotic horror film Embrace of the Vampire (starring Alyssa Milano) and guest-starred in an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld as George Costanza's seemingly-bulimic girlfriend.

Lewis acted in the 2019 film Lost Angelas playing Angie Malone, one of the title roles.

Accusation against Roman Polanski On 14 May 2010, Lewis and her Los Angeles-based attorney Gloria Allred accused Roman Polanski of having sexually assaulted Lewis when she was 16 years old, while the two were working on Pirates. Prosecutors in Los Angeles confirmed that they interviewed Lewis in connection with the allegations. According to Lewis, the incident occurred at Polanski's Paris apartment in 1983.

On 17 May 2010, an article called into question Lewis' testimony by referencing an account of events she gave in an interview with the UK's News of the World, in which she had spoken of a relationship with Polanski, along with several other actors. Later, in December 2019, French magazine L’Obs came back to the News of the World story, relating a "violent campaign to discredit her" in the media. Charlotte Lewis said: "I was completely alone in 2010. No one believed me. They said I was a prostitute, a liar. I'm a little anxious to talk. The media got me so depressed."

Lewis filed a claim for defamation, and Polanski was charged under French law. She told the court, which specialised in media cases, and was concerned with the defamation and not the rape allegation, that she had become the victim of a "smear campaign" that "nearly destroyed" her life. Polanski did not attend any of the hearings, including the verdict given in his favour in May 2024, when he was acquitted of the defamation.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1986 Pirates María-Dolores de la Jenya de la Calde 1986 Kee Nang 1988 Dial: Help Jenny Cooper 1989 Tripwire Trudy 1989 Emerald Princess Short film 1990 Stranger in the House Unknown 1991 Healing Hurts Unknown 1992 Storyville Lee Tran 1993 Excessive Force Anna Gilmour 1994 Lipstick Camera Roberta Dailey 1994 Men of War Loki 1995 Embrace of the Vampire Sarah 1995 Decoy Katya 1996 Jacqueline 1996 Navajo Blues Elizabeth Wyako 1997 Mutual Needs Louise Collier 1999 Every Dog Has Its Day Jill 2003 Henry X Mrs. Morgan 2003 Hey DJ Tai 2019 Lost Angelas Angie Malone

Television Year Title Role Notes 1988 Crime Story Mai Lan "Femme Fatale" 1990–1991 Broken Bridges Priscilla Mather Recurring role 1991 Bare Essentials Tarita TV film 1992 Sketch Artist Leese TV film 1993 Red Shoe Diaries Claire "Midnight Bells" 1995 Seinfeld Nina "The Switch" 1996 Viper Evangeline Raines "White Fire" 1996 Renegade Kate "The Pipeline" 1999 Highlander: The Raven Jade "The Frame"